Featured New Album Releases

Chvrches

Every Open Eye

Glassnote Entertainment Group / Goodbye Records

Pop/Rock

The trio follows its massively successful debut with more rousing, expertly crafted synth-pop.

— Heather Phares

Disclosure

Caracal

Capitol

Electronic

Several chart-topping vocalists make contributions, but the lower-profile guests truly elevate the Lawrence brothers' second album.

— Andy Kellman

New Order

Music Complete

Mute

Pop/Rock

The band's ninth album -- its first for Mute and first without bassist Peter Hook -- is a dance music-dominated affair.

— Tim Sendra

Don Henley

Cass County

Capitol / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

The Eagles founder returns to his country-rock roots on this star-studded record named after his Texas home.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Dead Weather

Dodge and Burn

Third Man Records

Pop/Rock

After a five-year hiatus, the supergroup delivers its most compelling, exciting album yet.

— Heather Phares

Kaskade

Automatic

Arkade / Warner Bros.

Electronic

A welcome return to form, the producer's ninth studio effort features smooth house and innovative production touches.

— David Jeffries

Silversun Pickups

Better Nature

New Machine

Pop/Rock

Fourth album from the L.A. indie rockers nudges the emphasis from guitars to keyboards, though the sound is still big.

— Mark Deming

Kurt Vile

B'lieve I'm Goin Down...

Matador

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter trades electric guitars for acoustics, banjos, and pianos, whittling away excess while retaining eccentricity.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Fetty Wap

300 Entertainment / Atlantic / Warner Music

Rap

The MC behind the smash hit "Trap Queen" keeps it real on this unrefined and exciting debut.

— David Jeffries

Dungen

Allas Sak

Mexican Summer

Pop/Rock

The band's seventh album is another psych-folk-pop gem that focuses on songcraft and features tighter arrangements and softer instrumentation than usual.

— Tim Sendra

Los Lobos

Gates of Gold

429 Records / Savoy Jazz

Pop/Rock, Latin

The 17th studio album from East L.A.'s greatest band finds them still exploring new directions and playing with style and authority.

— Mark Deming

Thomas Rhett

Tangled Up

Valory

Country

A thoroughly modern country record that embraces big pop hooks, beach swagger, and neo-disco.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

JR JR

Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

The duo's first LP after changing their name from Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. offers more of their melodic, cheerily ornate, harmony-attentive indie pop.

— Marcy Donelson

Big Grams

Epic

Pop/Rock

The side project of indie duo Phantogram and OutKast MC Big Boi makes its debut with this busy EP.

— David Jeffries

Julia Holter

Have You in My Wilderness

Domino

Pop/Rock, Avant-Garde

The singer/composer's fourth album offers a more approachable version of her music's breathtaking beauty and ambition.

— Heather Phares

Widespread Panic

Street Dogs

Vanguard

Pop/Rock

On its first studio date in five years, the Georgia band records new material live from the floor with excellent results.

— Thom Jurek

Various Artists

Artifact: The Dawn of Creation Records 83-85

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

The early days of the influential indie pop label Creation are covered in exhaustive detail, with loads of rarities and unreleased demos.

— Tim Sendra

Herb Alpert

Come Fly with Me

Herb Alpert Presents / WEA

Easy Listening, Jazz, Pop/Rock

The '60s trumpet icon is as tender and melodic as ever on this collection of covers and originals.

— Matt Collar

John Scofield

Past Present

Impulse!

Jazz

Scofield reunites his '90s quartet with saxophonist Joe Lovano for a creatively inspired, emotionally resonant session.

— Matt Collar

Kendrick Scott / Kendrick Scott Oracle

We Are the Drum

Blue Note

Jazz

Quietly intense, soulful third album from the drummer's ensemble.

— Matt Collar

Wand

1000 Days

Drag City

Pop/Rock

The busy L.A. trio's third album blends their psych and metal sides perfectly while adding occasional synthesizers and drum machines.

— Tim Sendra

Patty Griffin

Servant of Love

PGM

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter's first album for her own PGM label features 13 personal songs about the many guises of love.

— Mark Deming

Doe Paoro

After

Anti-

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Austere synth soul from this atmospheric L.A.-based singer/songwriter.

— Timothy Monger

Shawn Colvin

Uncovered

Fantasy

Pop/Rock, Folk

Twenty-one years after her first covers album, Shawn Colvin returns with the quietly satisfying, slyly inventive Uncovered.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Dears

Times Infinity, Vol. 1

Dangerbird Records

Pop/Rock

The much anticipated follow-up to 2011's Degeneration Street, Times Infinity 1 is the first installment of a planned two-part collection of new music from the Montrealers.

— James Christopher Monger

The Intelligence

Vintage Future

In the Red Records

Pop/Rock

The band's first album in three years is a rousing success thanks to its bleakly hilarious portraits of failure.

— Heather Phares

Jeff Lorber / The Jeff Lorber Fusion

Step It Up

Heads Up International

Jazz

Modal grooves and funky vamps make this set -- with guests Bob Mintzer and Robben Ford -- a winner.

— Thom Jurek

Youth Lagoon

Savage Hills Ballroom

Fat Possum Records

Pop/Rock

Trevor Powers' third studio long-player under the Youth Lagoon moniker is his most cohesive set of pained youth songs to date.

— James Christopher Monger

Mindi Abair / Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers / Sweet Pea Atkinson

Live in Seattle

Heads Up International / Telarc

Jazz

In concert with Randy Jacobs and Sweet Pea Atkinson, the saxophonist's musical wild side is on full, gritty, glorious display.

— Thom Jurek

Steven Drozd / Fever the Ghost / Victor Indrizzo

Zirconium Meconium

Complicated Game / Universal

Pop/Rock

The L.A. quartet's debut offers explosive, dancy, glam-flavored neo-psych with theatricality to spare.

— Marcy Donelson

Futurebirds

Hotel Parties

Easy Sound Recording Company

Pop/Rock

The alternative country-rock sextet sticks to its warm and pleasing pop-country-psych while exploring themes of dualism and contradiction.

— Marcy Donelson

Gilla Band

Holding Hands with Jamie

Rough Trade

Pop/Rock

Dublin noise rock quartet's debut full-length on Rough Trade is the band's harshest, most bracing work yet.

— Paul Simpson

Apollo Brown

Grandeur

Mello Music Group

Rap

The Detroit hip-hop producer delivers an excellent LP with help from Chino XL, Vinnie Paz, Sean Price, and others.

— David Jeffries

Avant

The VIII

Mo-B

R&B

On album eight, the singer, songwriter, and producer maintains his consistent approach to mature R&B while switching up his collaborators once again.

— Andy Kellman

U.S. Girls

Half Free

4AD

Pop/Rock

U.S. Girls' 4AD debut maintains the accessibility of 2012's Gem while revisiting the tape loop experimentation of their earlier works.

— Paul Simpson

The Underachievers

Evermore: The Art of Duality

Universal

Rap

A dense album, the Brooklyn duo's sophomore outing is also a conceptual release, divided into light and dark sides.

— David Jeffries

Bikini Kill

Revolution Girl Style Now

Bikini Kill Records

Pop/Rock

First recorded salvo from the soon-to-be-iconic Riot Grrrls; reissued in 2015 with three outtakes from the original sessions.

— Mark Deming

Suburban Lawns

Futurismo

Pop/Rock

Near-definitive collection pairs this new wave act's 1981 debut album and 1983 farewell EP in one package.

— Mark Deming

Tedo Stone

Marshes

This is American Music / Universal

Pop/Rock

The Athens-based indie rocker turns in a solid sophomore LP of grainy Southern garage pop.

— Timothy Monger

Huntress

Static

Napalm Records

Pop/Rock

The band's third album finds Jill Janus in excellent voice and the band's confidence soaring in a fine batch of hooky new songs.

— Thom Jurek

Introverted Dancefloor

Carpark Records

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Debut from ex-Rubys Suns member stakes out a space somewhere between melancholic bedroom electronica and shimmering machine disco.

— Tim Sendra

Michael Chapman

Fish

Tompkins Square

Folk, Pop/Rock, Country

The 29th album from the venerable British folk guitarist finds him in typically expert form.

— Mark Deming

Sexwitch

Echo

Pop/Rock

The collaboration's thrilling debut bridges the gap between psych-rock, Middle Eastern, and Asian music as it explores love, lust, life, and death.

— Heather Phares

Robin Ticciati / Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Joseph Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 31, 70 & 101

Linn Records

Classical

For those looking for a fresh read on Haydn's symphonies, look no further than this release by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and youthful conductor Ticciati.

— James Manheim